Girls hockey: Exeter honors its three seniors in their final home game

Tuesday

Feb 25, 2014 at 2:00 AM

EXETER — Maybe the light switch flicked on, or maybe it was the finality of the moment, the realization that her high school hockey career was nearing its end.

RYAN O'LEARY

EXETER — Maybe the light switch flicked on, or maybe it was the finality of the moment, the realization that her high school hockey career was nearing its end.

But no one on the Exeter High School girls hockey team has seen Brie Houston play better.

When all's said and done, the sticks and pucks stored away for the spring, that will be the mantra of Exeter's Class of 2014. Its three seniors are set to leave the program as better hockey players, and the same can be said for the team as a whole.

"There's a little bit of hockey in there, but there's an awful lot of personal virtue in there," Exeter coach Geoff Taylor said of his seniors. "That's really the story for these girls. I think it's just their character and the work that they've put in. They've left this program better than when they came here."

The Blue Hawks celebrated Houston, Erica Fleming and Catherine "Wild Bill" Bilodeau on Thursday but couldn't send their seniors off with a win. Concord scored back-to-back goals in the third period and held for a 4-2 win at The Rinks at Exeter.

Exeter now stands at 2-13 in Division I, a record that falls in line with past seasons. But the team has enjoyed one of its most competitive seasons in recent memory. Kathryn Maher and Corinne McNulty each scored in Thursday's third period, and the team scored 37 goals this season.

The Hawks, trailing 2-0 after the first period, pulled within 2-1 in the third when Maher scored off assists from Emily Kopecky and Gabby Givetz.

Concord's Annie Mullen answered about 3 minutes later on her way to a four-point night (goal, three assists). The Tide improved to 4-10.

It was a game that Exeter, which capped the scoring with 1:06 remaining on McNulty's goal from Meghan Civiello, knew it could win. Instead, it fell in the near-miss column with Exeter's 2-1 loss to Souhegan on Jan. 25 and its 7-6 loss to Bishop Brady/Trinity on Feb. 8.

"We had the chances," Taylor said. "I think the thing is, we didn't come out and play the first period like it was a special night. We came out and we were on our heels and we were spinning a little bit."

The spirit of the day, though, was lost on no one. Houston fought back tears after the game as she described her Blue Hawk experience.

"There was definitely a difference in this team," she said. "We helped each other get through things and we were there for each other. I just feel like that energy in the locker room was a lot different this year. I'm glad this is who I spent my senior year with."

There was something different in Houston on Thursday. Her teammates and coach marveled over her play with the puck, her passing and her assertiveness to angle her body and dig picks out along the boards. She helped create a series of chances on a night when Exeter outshot Concord 30-22 in a losing cause.

"We definitely worked our butts off," said Fleming, who has grown up around hockey and took her first true stab at playing with the Hawks this season. "Brie played probably her best game that I've ever seen her play, which was well worth it."

Exeter's three seniors come from different angles. Houston logged key ice time offensively for the third straight season. Fleming took in the experience while finding other ways to make her presence felt as a teammate and leader, and Bilodeau, there wasn't a player on the ice who would do more for her team.

"If we were headed out on the road on Monday and we told Wild Bill she had to drive the bus," Taylor said of Bilodeau, "she'd drive the bus."

Taylor commended Houston for her growth as a player. He lauded Fleming for understanding and taking to her role. She saw limited ice time but never let that impact her presence on a team that's had a unique, tight-knit personality from the start.

"She's the one that takes it upon herself to really be a catalyst for making tonight special," Taylor said of Fleming on Senior Night. "It's supposed to be her special night, but she's making it special for everybody else. She's taking pictures, getting the girls together...; what more can you ask for?"

The Hawks will wrap up their season with two more road games, including tonight's rematch at Concord.

Regardless of the final standings, the team will enter the 2014-15 season with hope. Kopecky and fellow freshman Katelyn Mello were the team's leading point getters this season, and the Hawks could bring back as many as seven seniors, including standouts Maher and Kelly Moran.

Next year's group will also have three major supporters on the outside looking in.

"I definitely want to come back and help (someday as a volunteer)," Bilodeau said of the future, "because I believe in this team and I think they can get there."

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